


A Pox on Our Past

by IJM



Category: General Hospital
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-25 09:17:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16194596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IJM/pseuds/IJM
Summary: Drew is in therapy with Kevin and his memories are coming back.





	A Pox on Our Past

**Author's Note:**

> Not for profit. No claim of ownership of characters.

Drew and Franco were both seated in Kevin’s office while he cleared space on his desk for both of their files. Franco was comfortable with Kevin and had encouraged Drew to go to him to help him regain his memories. But had no idea why Drew had asked him to have a joint session. He refused to elaborate when questioned.

“Franco, thank you for agreeing to meet with us today,” Kevin started. “I hope this will benefit both of you.”

The once-brothers looked at each other as if checking to see if the other believed it.

“Drew, I have no authority to tell Franco anything about our sessions, just as I can’t tell you anything about his sessions. So, whatever you want him to know, you need to tell him up front before we really start examining things.”

Drew shifted in his chair, uncomfortable. “The thing is, I think I’m having real memories of my life including the time we spent as twin brothers.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?” Franco asked. Drew didn’t sound especially positive even though he clearly had wanted his own memories for a long time.

“Well, I’ve had some memories about you and me and Jim Harvey.”

“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Franco asked, momentarily panicked that he had not actually been able to protect Andy, but lost him anyway.

“No. I don’t remember him ever touching me inappropriately.”

“Thank God,” Franco sighed, clearly relieved.

“But I am remembering things about the dynamics between the four people in that house. I was perpetually confused. You always seemed to be afraid. Betsy was clueless and thought we had a perfect little family. And Jim swung hot and cold, kind then angry. I didn’t understand him or why she let him stay. I did understand that you were afraid of him and the instability.”

“Does that sound anything like how you remember things?” Kevin asked.

Franco nodded. He had been a little ball of anxiety as a child. He never knew if Andy had realized that or not.

“I was jealous because Jim liked you better. He bought you toys and spent time with you. He would squeeze your neck or shoulders or pat you on the head when he walked by. He didn’t give me attention and I felt left out.”

Franco subconsciously put his own hand on the back of his neck. “Every time he touched me, it was a threat,” Franco told him. “He did that to remind me that I couldn’t tell anyone about ‘our special relationship.’” He felt a wave of nausea, remembering the way Jim Harvey’s hand felt on his neck. “He owned me and he liked to remind me he owned me.”

“I’m not mad at you,” Drew clarified. “As an adult, I can see that he was intimidating you. I even remember noticing then that you always got this look in your eyes when he did that. I didn’t have a word for it as a kid, but today I would call it ‘hollow.’ I realize now that he was destroying you.”

“Okay,” Franco responded. “Why am I here, now?” Did Drew want him to confirm that he had real memories?

“There was an incident,” Drew told him. “I wanted to know why you never told me about it. I mean, as adults.”

Franco looked confused. “I really only talk to Kevin about incidents and I tell him as little as possible.”

Kevin interrupted. “Drew, you have to keep in perspective that you and Franco might not remember the same things.”

Drew nodded. “Do you remember when we had chicken pox?”

Franco tilted his head a little and shook it. “I don’t remember having chicken pox. Betsy told me I did when it was going around school one year, but, no, I don’t remember it.”

“You know, Betsy was a nurse and, at least back then, if you had one kid with chicken pox, you made sure the other one would catch it too, to get it over with while the kid was young.”

“Okay.”

“I think you must have gotten it first. Betsy told me to go to your room and keep your company because you didn’t feel good.”

Franco listened.

“I locked the door. I knew I wasn’t supposed to, but I wanted to play with your toys and Jim always got mad when you tried to share with me.”

Franco looked down. How he hated those toys!

“So, I grabbed a bunch and crawled into bed with you. I told you I wanted to play and you said I could have them, but I knew Jim wouldn’t let me have any because he always yelled at us and said they were your toys. He said I didn’t deserve any toys.”

Franco swallowed. He remembered Jim and those damn toys that Andy couldn’t play with.

“So, we just started playing with everything and we were having fun. You don’t remember any of this?” he asked.

Franco shook his head, “I’m sorry. I don’t remember this specific thing at all.”

“It’s okay,” Drew told him. “So, we played a while and then someone tried to open the door. It was Jim. He was really, really mad that it was locked. You freaked out. You told me in a whisper to go hide in the closet. I didn’t understand why, but you were so upset and insisted and you said, ‘Don’t come out, no matter what. Promise.’”

“I promised. And we always kept our promises.”

Franco was fidgeting and had picked up the little wooden carving that Kevin kept on his desk. He wanted Drew to stop talking now.

Kevin spoke up again, “Franco, you seem upset.”

“I’m fine,” he lied, not looking up.

“I don’t think you are,” Kevin said. He looked at Drew who was also watching Franco’s reaction. “What are you thinking?”

“I don’t want Drew to tell me what happened next.”

“Do you remember what happened next?”

“No, but it’s what always happened, isn’t it?” There was bitterness in his voice.

“Maybe I should stop,” Drew offered. He felt like someone had kicked him in the stomach. He remembered Bobby was his brother and had protected him.

“Franco, do you want Drew to stop?” Kevin asked. “Can you handle what he has to tell you?”

Franco snapped at Kevin, “How can I know if I can handle what he’s going to say if I don’t know what he’s going say?”

Unphased, Kevin replied. “You seem to have an idea.”

“I don’t think Jim was bringing me chicken soup.”

“What are you afraid of?” Kevin asked.

“Andy didn’t know what was going on and Drew is going to tell me something that disputes that and everything I did to try to protect Andy isn’t going to mean anything. My whole life was a waste. Andy got sent away and it was my fault.”

Drew felt terrible now that he had asked to have the session with Franco. Kevin gave him a  reassuring nod that said, “Let me handle this.”

Kevin’s voice was very calm. “Franco, if Andy found out Jim was hurting you, and I’m only asking if, why does it make your life a waste?”

Full of nervous energy, Franco stood up and began to pace. “I failed to protect him and he got sent away anyway.”

“At four years old, it wasn’t your responsibility to protect Andy.”

“Yes, it was,” Franco raised his voice. “Jim promised not to hurt Andy as long as I…” He seemed overcome by a trance.

“As long as what?” Kevin prodded.

Franco didn’t answer. He sat on the floor, closed his eyes, and let his head rest against the side of a bookshelf.

“I’m sorry,” Drew whispered to Kevin. “I didn’t mean to do this.”

“You didn’t do this,” Kevin reminded Drew. “He needs some time right now. He has a lot of repressed pain. You know that.”

“I didn’t have to bring it up,” Drew reasoned. “I could have left good enough alone.” He looked at the man who used to be his brother. He had shut down. It was no wonder. The responsibility that Jim and burdened him with was far more than a preschool child could handle. Drew was sad and angry and he wanted to help.

Drew got up and went to Franco, sat down next to him, and was quiet for a while.

“Bobby,” he whispered a little while later. When Franco didn’t answer, he nudged Franco’s shoulder with his own. “Bobby.”

“What?” Franco asked.

“We should do something fun, like get a pizza and watch a movie.”

“Okay,” Franco nodded.

“I need to tell you what happened.”

Franco shook his head, “No.”

“I hid in the closet, just like I promised I would. But I could see and hear him.”

“No,” Franco argued, desperate to believe it was not something that had actually happened.

Drew had tears in his eyes. “You were just a little kid. And you were broken. He hit you for locking the door that I locked. He yelled at you for making a mess with the toys that I made a mess of. He berated you, called you stupid and worthless, and said you had to pay for your mistakes. But they were my mistakes.”

Franco kept his eyes closed, but in his mind, he could see everything Drew was describing.

“Bobby, you didn’t say a word. You didn’t tell him it was me. Why didn’t you defend yourself?”

Franco turned and looked right into Drew’s eyes. “I knew I was already broken.”

The honesty in the statement hit Drew like a thousand volts of electricity. His heart might have stopped for a moment. He felt like he was looking at Franco’s soul. At that moment he knew. No one had ever loved him as much as his brother.

Drew could hardly speak. He put his arm around Franco’s shoulders and pulled him into a hug. He knew from Franco’s breathing that he was trying very hard to not cry. “Just let it go,” Drew told him. And he found that he was in tears too. He realized he was no longer in Jason Morgan’s headspace. He could feel this. And it hurt. “I should have helped you,” Drew lamented.

“Then he would have broken you too,” Franco reasoned.

“I should have helped,” Drew repeated.

Franco pulled away and let his head rest against the bookshelf again.

“When Harvey was done doing whatever he did, you were laying in the bed. You were whispering and you counted to 100. I couldn’t count that high then. Then you got out of the bed, wrapped in a blanket, got some clean pajamas, and went to take a shower. When you left, I came out of the closet and I heard the water. So I put all the toys back where they were supposed to go. When I got the toys off the bed, I saw… there was blood on your sheets. I was so scared,” Drew admitted. “I didn’t know what I know now, what the blood meant.”

“Please, please stop,” Franco begged, finding his description unbearable to hear.

“I’m sorry,” Drew repeated. “I didn’t understand.”

“Neither of you could understand,” Kevin’s voice brought them both back to the reality that they were in the therapist’s office, sitting on the floor. “You were too young to understand. You were too young to know how to get help. Jim Harvey was the source or power in that house. Betsy gave him everything he needed to perpetuate his crimes. She turned a blind eye to his perversions.”

“I owe you everything,” Drew said. “If you hadn’t… I would have…”

“Turned out like me?” Franco supplied, as self-deprecating as ever.

“There is nothing wrong with who you are,” Drew told him emphatically. “You couldn’t control the horrible things you did. That’s a fact. I’ve gotten to know you and I’m starting to remember us as kids. You had a pure soul and Harvey put out the light. Since the surgery and since you got involved with Elizabeth, that light has come back.”

Franco smiled, barely.

“And, just so you know, as your brother, it is my duty to protect that light for the rest of your life. Because you made sure he didn’t get to me. I promise you, Bobby. And I love you.” He could see tears welling in Franco’s eyes. “Yeah, I know, you love me too. Give me one of those incredibly awkward man-hugs.”

Kevin watched the two men, once mortal enemies, choosing to reclaim their brotherhood. Sometimes being a therapist was difficult and draining. But this was one of the good days that he would remember when he had a bad day. This was a success story, something there were far too few of in therapy.

 

\--End--


End file.
